Cash drawers are commonly found in consumer retail outlets and are used to complete the consumer's purchase at a checkout point. Cash drawers typically hold a till or other feature that helps a cashier organize and sort currency used to pay for the consumer's purchase. Currency typically includes both paper currency (bills, checks, food stamps, etc.) and coin money. Depending on the country and culture where the cash drawer is used this paper currency is stored either on end or laying flat in the cash drawer.
Cash drawers are typically part of a larger cash register system. When the cash drawer is part of a cash register system, the drawer is typically kept below a register area. The register area generally includes a keypad having multiple keys which can indicate to a processor in the cash register the amount of an item a customer wishes to purchase, the specific item the customer wishes to purchase, or the price of the item. These keys can include a numeric keypad, an alpha numeric keypad, a listing of items typically purchased by customers at the establishment, a method of payment, or specialized keys for special or common transactions used by the establishment. In other arrangements the cash register system can be connected to a scanner, which can scan a universal product code (UPC) label or other product identifiers that are located on the product. This scanned UPC code is converted to a machine readable code that allows the processor to determine the price of the scanned item based upon a value stored for that product.
Cash drawers can also be used as part of a check stand or checkout lane. In the checkout lane configuration the cash drawer is typically part of the cash register system discussed above. In this arrangement the cashier often receives the products the customer wishes to purchase along a product path running from an unloading area, past the cashier, to a bagging area. Commonly, products are advanced along the product path from the unloading area to the cashier with a conveyer-type belt that moves the products from the unloading end of the check stand to the cashier. Once the products reach the cashier, the cashier scans the UPC codes for each product using a scanner that is installed on the check stand, or manually enters the price of the product on the keypad. The movement of the product across the scanner is also part of the product path. In some arrangements of the cash stand, the cashier may use a handheld scanner to scan items that are not on the belt, or are too bulky to pass by the scanning window of the installed scanner. The scanned UPC code is converted into a machine-readable code that allows the cash register to determine the price for the scanned item. After scanning, the cashier passes the product along the product path to a bagging station or loading area where the customer can pick up the purchased products.
Once the cashier has scanned all of the products which the customer purchased, the cash register calculates the price of all of the products the customer purchased, and presents the total to both the customer and the cashier. The cashier then requests payment from the customer. The customer either pays for the products with cash currency, with a check, or by electronic means, such as an ATM/debit card. If the consumer pays for the products with cash currency, the cashier must open the cash drawer to complete the sales transaction. In a typical arrangement of the cash stand the cash drawer is located in a position that requires the cashier to break eye contact with the customer in order to access and manipulate the contents of the cash drawer.
In one arrangement the cash drawer is located outside the product path, and requires the cashier to turn to the left or to the right of the customer to access the contents of the cash drawer. This arrangement prevents the cashier from keeping an eye on both the contents of the cash drawer and the customer. Often the cashier is in communication with the customer while the cash drawer is still open. In-store video surveillance has shown that when the cash drawer is open, and the cashier is looking at the customer, there is an increased likelihood that a person in another checkout lane, who may be working with the customer, can reach into the cash drawer and remove the contents without the cashier's knowledge. This is because the cashier is not looking at the contents of the drawer, and is distracted by the customer. To combat this problem several solutions have been proposed. However, none of these solutions provides an optimum position of the cash drawer in relationship to both the cashier and the customer.
One proposed solution is to place the cash drawer around the scanner. In this solution the cash drawer has a “U” shape with the base of the “U” facing the cashier. When the cash drawer is opened the top portion that covers the cash drawer pops up to allow access to the contents of the cash drawer. However, this drawer arrangement arranges the currency in locations that are uncommon to that normally encountered by the cashier. This arrangement results in cashier confusion, and increased checkout times, and as such is not often used.
Another proposed solution is to place the cash drawer below the scanner. When the cashier finishes a transaction, the cash drawer opens below the scanner, and moves towards the cashier. The cashier is required to move away from the scanner, and the customer in order to avoid being injured or hit by the cash drawer as it opens. The contact point in this arrangement commonly occurs between the knee and hip of the cashier. Further, this arrangement forces the cashier to bend down in order to access the contents of the cash drawer resulting in poor ergonomics, and increased risk of injury.
Another variation of placing the cash drawer below the scanner is to place the cash drawer either to the left or to the right of the cashier such that when the drawer opens, the drawer opens below the top surface of the scanner. However, this arrangement also has drawbacks. For example, when the cash drawer is placed to the right of the cashier, the drawer opens towards the cashier, and enters into the space of the cashier station. The cashier, again, must step back away from the path of the cash drawer, or move to the left, in order to avoid being hit by the cash drawer. The cashier also must bend down to access the contents of the cash drawer, once again resulting in poor ergonomics, and increased risk of injury.
Yet, another proposed solution places the cash drawer above the product path that the goods take as they are passed over the scanner during the scanning process. The cash drawer is raised significantly above the top surface of the scanner. In systems that feature this design, the check stand is wider than the scanning portion in the area where the cash drawer opens. This extra width is required to accommodate components of the cash drawer necessary to open the cash drawer. Further, these designs typically require the cashier to move from a scanning position to a second position away from the scanner, as the cash drawer is not located in line with the scanner. This arrangement of the cash drawer and scanner is required because the dimensions of the cash drawer components are not functionally compatible with the dimensions of the scanner. Since the cashier must move to access the contents of the cash drawer additional time is added to complete the transaction.
It is estimated that the time required for the cashier to move to access the contents of the cash drawer and complete the transaction ranges between three and ten seconds per transaction in these prior art cash drawer arrangements. This additional time can add up to minutes a day, reducing the overall efficiency of the retail establishment, as more time is required to check out each customer. Further, as the width of the check stand is greater than the scanner, additional valuable floor space is required for the check stand, which could be used for selling high profit items. Therefore, it is desirable for a cash drawer and check stand arrangement that minimizes both size and cashier movement.